Paper disintegrator



May 7, 1963 E. F. JOSEPH ETAL PAPER DISINTEGRATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJune 6, 1962 FIGLZ.

INVENTORS ATTORNEY F. JOSEPH C LE NEAY BENJAMIN B. BY 5MM( May 7, 1963E. F. JosEPH ETAL 3,088,683

PAPER DISINTEGRATOR Filed June 6, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l (INVENTORS YELIAS F. JOSEPH D BENJAMIN cL-:NEAY

BY Wvg ATTORNEY United States Patent Gice 3,088,683 Patented May 7.,1963 3,088,683 PAPER DISINTEGRATOR Elias F. Joseph and Beniamin B.Cleneay, Tyler, TeX., assignors to J. B. Sedberry, Inc., Tyler, Tex., acorporation of Tennessee Filed yJune 6, 1962, Ser. No. 200,498 6 Claims.(Cl. 241-86) This invention relates to a compact, portable paperdisintegrator particularly adapted for office use for destroying paperof all kinds, and is especially useful where it is necessary to destroyclassified material -to the point of a complete loss of identity.

Various means of disposing of classified paper material employ intenseheat, chemicals, or water, which in certain situations are inconvenientand undesirable. This invention employs a small hammer mill whichdisintegrates the paper t a-nely ground dry pulp which may be easilydisposed of without the inconvenience associated with other types ofdisposal.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a compact, portablepaper disintegrator which will reduce the material fed into `it to anunidentifiable dry pulp-like mass.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hammer mill type ofdisintegrator for dry material which requires no materialvconveying fanor blow pipe system due to the special design of the grinding chamber.

A further object of the invention is to provide a paper disintegratorwhich requires no plumbing, heat, or chemicals to accomplish the desiredresult.

Another object of .the invention is to provide a paper disintegratorwhich may be easily and safely operated by any employee without specialtraining.

Another object of the invention is to provide a paper disintegratorywhereinpaper clips, rubber bands, metal binders, andvstaples need notbe rst removed from the papers to be destroyed, thus saving time in thedisposal process.

With these `and other objects in view which will more readily appear asthe nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists.in the novel construction, combination, and Varrangement of parts,hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is fa front elevation of the paper disintegrator with the upperportion of the front wall removed and part of the doors covering thelower portion broken away to show the collection container.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation partly in section showing the upper portionof the cabinet and the grinding chamber.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation partly in section showing part ofthegrinding chamber and the discharge hopper with the upper part ofythecollection bag attached thereto.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures of the drawing.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, A designates a portablesound-proofy and dust-proof cabinet having a hammer mill B and anelectric motor C mounted in the upper portion thereof. Directly beneaththe grinding chamber and communicating Vtherewith is a removable bagD'for collecting'the disintegrated paper.

The cabinet A includes a bottom wall 1, side walls 2, a rear wall 3,`and a frontwall 4 covering the upper portion of the cabinet. In orderthat the cabinet may be easily moved about, casters I are mounted on theouter surface of the bottom wall at the corners thereof. The lower halfof the front of the cabinet is provided with a pair of doors 5 so thataccess may be obtained to the collection bag D to permit removal thereofand disposal of thepulverized paper. A -cover 6 is hinged at 7 to therear wall 3 to -provide access to the hammer mill B. The cover 6 isprovided with an elongated opening 8 which is surrounded by anupstanding continuous wall forming the mouth 9 of a material-receivinginlet chute communicating with the grinding chamber E. A cover 10 ishinged at 11 to the wall 9 to close oi the inlet opening when desired.All of the parts of the cabinet proper just described are provided witha lining of sound deadening insulation 12. For ventilation purposes, therear wall 3 is provided with a ser-ies of openings 13 which communicatewith a plurality of shielding louvers 14.

A supporting frame F is securely bolted to the side and end walls ofthecabinet forming a horizontal supporting base for the hammer mill and theelectric motor for operating the same.

The grinding chamber E includes a lower section 2t) and an upper section21 hingedly secured thereto at 22. The lower section is enclosed in acasing G provided with feet 23, 23, which are bolted at 25 to the frameF. The upper section 21 includes imperforate front and rear walls 26-and 27, respectively,of generally arcuate shape whose upper ends arespaced apart to form an opening 28. A chute 29 is secured to the upperedges of the front and rear walls at the opening 28 and extendsangularly upwardly into the opening 8 in the cover 6. A bafle plate 30is secured to the rear wall of the chute 29 and extends angularlydownwardly and outwardly therefrom so that it formsa narrowedventuri-like opening 31 at the lower end of the chute and at thevertical center line of the mill for a purpose which will later appear.A perforated, pivotcd baffle gate 32 is secured to the opposite endwalls of the chute 29' transversely thereof to prevent the materialbeing ground from being thrown back up the chute during the grindingoperation.

The rear wall 27 of the upper section 21 of the grinding chamber isprovided on its inner face with a perforate retarding screen 33 againstwhich the material being disintegrated is thrown `by the rapidlyrotating hammers H when it enters the mill through the opening 31. Thisscreen tends to temporarily retain the material in the upper section sothat it is subjected'to a more thorough shredding action from thehammers before it passes into the lower section 2). The section 26includes a perforate, arcuate, sizing screen 34 through which thepulverized or disintegrated material passes into a hopper 36 whose neck37 extends downwardly to an opening 38 in the frame F. A bag supportingmember K is secured to hopper 36 at neck 37 and includes a tubularcollar 39 surrounding a rectangular neck 40 fitted in the opening 38.The collar 39 is provided with upper and lower spaced iianges 41 and 42,respectively, the lower flange 42 serving as a support for an elasticretaining ring 43 which engages the upper edge of the open end of thebag D to keep it in position to receive the discharged material.

The hammers H are conventionally mounted on `a shaft 50 which isrotatably driven by the motor C and rotate -counterclockwise asindicated bythe arrow in FIG- URE 2. While the hammers are rotating,paper may be fed into the grinding chamber through chute 29 past gate 32and into the upper section 21 through opening 31. The high speedrotation of the hammers H sucks air in through the chute 29 with suchforce that paper need only be placed in the inlet mouth 9 whereupon itis rapidly pulled downwardly into the path of the hammers. Thus,the-papersto be" disintegrated maybe quickly disposed of, therebyrequiring less time on the part of the operator than is necessary withother types of machines.

The velocity of air entering the grinding chamber is increasedconsiderably by the angle and position of the chute 29, theventuri-effect of the narrowed opening 31, and the angular position ofthe lower surface 26 of the upper edge o-f the front wall 26. Thesurface 26 lies in a horizontal plane and is thus offset from the arcdefined by `the contour of wall 26 which brings it closer to the tips ofthe hammers H at the point Where the material enters the grindingchamber through opening 31. The clearance X between the surface 26' andthe hammer tips which has been found to be most satisfactory in serviceis approximately 1/16 of an inch. Although this clearance may varyslightly more or slightly less than the aforesaid 1/16 of an inch, thevelocity of incoming air will be affected adversely so that maximumsuction will not be obtained. The importance of obtaining the maximumsuction effect is not only to draw paper into the grinding chamber lasrapidly as possible, but also to provide sufficient force of air toquickly clear the screen 34 so that a continuous discharge ofdisintegrated material into the collection bag D is obtained. Thearrangement and relationship of parts just described combine to providean eficiently operating disintegrator which does not require anadditional source of air such as a material conveying fan, resulting ina savings of cost and space.

From the foregoing, it will now be seen that the present inventionprovides a device for effecting the flameless destruction of private orpersonal papers which would otherwise be destroyed by burning, bychemical action, or exposed to view of trash collectors.

The hammer mill which includes the usual shaft and rotating hammerscooperates with a circular mill casing arranged and concealed within thecabinet portion of the apparatus. With the hammers of the mill operatingin the direction of the arrow in FIGURE 2, it will be apparent that theydefine a hammer circle operating in conjunction with the anvil or gridto effect complete reduction of the paper into a fine dry granularcondition.

As the paper to be destroyed enters the mill, the hammers pick it up andthrow it against the covered quadrant of the retarding screen 33 wherethe paper is given its preliminary reduction. Thereafter, it is carriedover the remaining 180 of the open screen 34 lying wholly below thetransverse center of the hammer circle.

As the mill operates, a certain amount of pressure is built up in thecabinet and the air pressure thus generated may escape through thellouvers 14 in the rear walls of the cabinet.

We claim:

1. Disintegrating apparatus comprising, in combination, a cabinet, aframe disposed transversely of the cabinet substantially mediallythereof, a hammer mill supported on said frame, said hammer millincluding an arcuate imperforate upper section and an arcuate lowersection having a perforate bottom wall, an imperforate casing enclosingsaid lower section, said upper and lower sections forming a grindingchamber, said upper section including front and rear walls whose upperedlges are spaced apart .to define a material receiving openingtherebetween, a motor for driving said mill also supported on saidframe, a shaft having a plurality of hammers thereon and disposed withinsaid grinding chamber, one end of said shaft connected to said motor, afeeding chute at the top of the cabinet communicating with the openingin said upper section and offset therefrom, a discharge hopper supportedon said casing below the perforate bottom wall of said lower section,and a removable collection receptacle in receiving relation to saiddischarge hopper.

2. Disintegrating apparatus according .to claim 1, wherein the feedingchute includes a material receiving hopper having a pivoted cover andthe upper casing is provided with an angularly disposed upwardlyextending chute surrounding said opening and communicating with saidmaterial receiving hopper.

3. Disintegrating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a baffle plateis secured to the rear wall of said chute and extends angularlydownwardly and outwardly therefrom :to form a restricted opening at thelower end of said chute.

4. Disintegrating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the restrictedopening at the lower end of said chute is aligned with the vertical axisof the shaft on which said hammers are mounted.

5. Disintegrating apparatus comprising, in combination, a cabinet, aframe disposed transversely of the cabinet substantially mediallythereof, a hammer mill supported on said frame, said hammer millincluding an arcuate imperforate upper section and an arcuate lowersection having a perforate bottom wall, an imperforate casing enclosingsaid lower section, said upper and lower sections forming a grindingchamber, said upper section including front and rear walls whose upperedges are spaced apart to define a material receiving openingtherebetween, a motor for driving said mill also supported on saidframe, a shaft having a plurality of hammers thereon and disposed withinsaid grinding chamber, one end of said shaft connected to said motor,the inner surface of the upper edge of 'the front Wall of said uppersection adjacent said material receiving opening spaced closer to thepath defined by the tips of the hammers than the inner surface of thebalance of .the upper and lower sections, a feeding chute at the top ofthe cabinet communicating with the opening in said upper section andoffset therefrom, bafiie means within said chute and extending into saidmaterial receiving opening, a discharge hopper supported on said casingbelow the perforate bottom wall of said lower section, and a removablecollection receptacle in receiving rel-ation to said discharge hopper.

6. An apparatus for use in ofces and the like to effect the destructionof paper by reducing it to a fine dry pulp, comprising, in combination,a cabinet having side walls, a movable top wall, and a bottom wall, atleast one of said side walls having air pressure escape louvers, anotherof said side walls having an access opening in the lower portion thereofand at least one door for closing said opening, said bottom wall mountedon casters for ready movement to la selected location, a horizontalsupport disposed transversely of the interior of the cabinet, a charginghopper on the top wall, a hammer mill having an `opening at the topthereof and including an arcuate imperforate upper section and anarcuate lower section having Ia perforate bottom wall, an imperforatecasing enclosing said lower section, said upper and lower sectionsforming a grinding chamber, a downwardly tapering chute communicating atone end with said charging hopper and at its lower end communicatingwith the opening in the top of the mill and discharging at the verticalcenter line of the mill, a perforated plate hinged at its upper end tothe end walls of the chute, baiile means within said chute for narrowingthe opening of the lower end of said chute, means on the horizontalsupport in said cabinet for detachably holding a collection bag inposition to receive discharged material from the perforate bottom wallof said grinding chamber, and an electric motor also carried by thesuppont and operatively connected to the hammer mill shaft.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,241,66-7 Mankoif May 13, 1941 2,490,564 Vincent Dec. 6, 1949 2,517,903Luhrmann Aug. 8, 1950 2,563,958 Pollitz Aug. 14, 1951 2,731,208 DoddJan. 17, 1956 2,764,361 Moore Sept. 25, 1956

1. DISINTEGRATING APPARATUS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A CABINET, AFRAME DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF THE CABINET SUBSTANTIALLY MEDIALLYTHEREOF, A HAMMER MILL SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME, SAID HAMMER MILLINCLUDING AN ARCUATE IMPERFORATE UPPER SECTION AND AN ARCUATE LOWERSECTION HAVING A PERFORATE BOTTOM WALL, AN INPERFORATE CASING ENCLOSINGSAID LOWER SECTION, SAID UPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS FORMING A GRINDINGCHAMBER, SAID UPPER SECTION INCLUDING FRONT AND REAR WALLS WHOSE UPPEREDGES ARE SPACED APART TO DEFINE A MATERIAL RECEIVING OPENINGTHEREBETWEEN, A MOTOR FOR DRIVING SAID MOLL ALSO SUPPORTED ON SAIDFRAME, A SHAFT HAVING A PLURALITY OF HAMMERS THEREON AND DISPOSED WITHINSAID GRINDING CHAMBER, ONE END OF SAID SHAFT CONNECTED TO SAID MOTOR, AFEEDING CHUTE AT THE TOP OF THE CABINET COMMUNICATING WITH THE OPENINGIN SAID UPPER SECTION AND OFFSET THEREFROM, A DISCHARGE HOPPER SUPPORTEDON SAID CASING BELOW THE PERFORATE BOTTOM